Spinning apparatus



1952 H. J. MCDERMOTT SPINNING APPARATUS Filed July 21, 1949 INVENTOR. IHENRY J MCDERMOT T ATTOISNEY.

'mersion within the bath,

Patented Nov. 11, 1952 SPINNING APPARATUS Henry J. McDermott,Collingdale,

to American Viscose Corporation,

Del

Pa., assignor Wilmington,

., a corporation of Delaware Application July 21, 1949, Serial No.105,995

7 Claims.

Y This invention relates to apparatus for spin ning artificial filamentsin which a coagulable liquid material is passed through a filteringmedium and extruded into a coagulating medium to form a filamentarymaterial therein. The invention has particular applicability to thespinning of viscose rayon and may be substituted for correspondingportions of the conventional apparatus.

It is an object of the present invention to provide spinning apparatusin which the separate portions may be detached without removing ordisturbing the adjustment of the remainder of the apparatus. it isanother object to provide a spinning bath container which may be readilydrained. It is also an object to provide a spinning bath containerhaving an overflow means that is easily and precisely adjustable andthat is self locking. Still another ob ect is to preterit wastecoagulated material from leaving the spinning bath container whilepermitting oily material to escape from the container through thecoagulant return line. It is an object to provide equipment in which theinterior passages are free from any corners or zones through whichspinning solution does not fiow freely and in which it may linger andundergo stagnation and ageing. One of the specific objects is to providea spinneret, 'a rounder, and a filter which are separately detachablewithout removing the adjacent parts. Other objects, features andadvantages of the invention will become apparent from the followingdescription and the drawing relating thereto in which Fig. 1 is anelevation end view showing a compartment and a portion of its wallbroken away :to better illustrate other portions of the apparatussupported therein;

Fig. 2 is an elevation side view in section of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top view of the drainage portion of theapparatus;

Fig. 4 is a pictorial view of the liquid container of the apparatus withportions of the walls broken away to illustrate parts thereof; and

Fig. 5 is a section view of apparatus taken along lines VV of Fig. 2.

The apparatus of the invention comprises generally an assembly forextruding fine streams of a spinning liquid into a bath. The assemblyincludes a container for the liquid bath, a spinneret and a rounderswingable out of the container with respect to a pivot, from a, positionof suband a stationary filter for the spinning liquid, said spinneret,rounder,

2 and filter being separately detachable from the assembly. Theinvention further includes an arrangement within the container by whichthe liquid of the bath may be deaerated as it enters the chamber, thelevel of the bath is regulated to a desired height, and buoyant materialformed within the container is prevented from passing out of thecontainer with bath liquid discharged vigorous and positive flowing ofthe solution.

In Figs. 1 and 2, a fixed bifurcate member 8 is illustrated whichprovides support for a filter unit 9 and pivotable support for aswingable bracket ID. The filter 9 is attached to the member 8 by afitting l2 which has annular threaded portions which extend in threadedrelationship with portions of the filter and the member. The fitting I2has a central passageway which is contiguous with the dischargepassageway I 4 of the filter, best shown in Fig. 5, and contiguous alsowith a passageway [5 provided within the bracket l0. Pivotable supportfor the bracket I0 is obextension I 9 of the fitting complementary tothe recess clamp screw 20.

' The passage l5 of the bracket It extends from the pivotal portion ofthe bracket to an enlarged 'interiorly threaded to accommodate a I 2having a surface I1, and the end of a .35 from tube 40 and through theport 4| situated "eitteriorly tapered or substantially below the top ofa vertical overflow tube 43 in the cell 31. By this arrangement, liquidflows out of the cell 38 into 39 through an aperture 45. The aperture 45is located near the bottom of the wall 46 so that any air or other gasmixed with the liquid flowing into the cell 38 may rise to the surfaceof the liquid while deaerated liquid flows downward and through the hole45 into the coagulating region of cell 39.

It often happens that the yarn leaving the spinneret breaks and thespinning solution continues to be extruded through the spinneret intothe coagulating solution. The coagulated material consequently producedhas a lower density than the coagulant and collects at the surfacethereof in a fiat mass. It is highly desirable to prevent any of thecoagulated material from overflowing into the coagulant return system onaccount or the likelihood of clogging overflow lines and possiblycausing the overflow of the container 35. Another problem attendant tothe operation of spinning apparatus at relatively high bath temperaturesis the separation and decomposition of oily materials from the bathsolution into solid or curdy masses which affect the quality of the yarnand also that of the coagulant which is to be reclaimed. it is thusdesired to have the oily material leave the cell 39 before it decomposesinto undesirable solid matter. However, on account of a lower specificgravity than the aqueous spinning bath, the oily material tends to ,beconcentrated in the top portion of the spinning bath liquid.Consequently, passage for spinning bath liquid to the overflow ispreferably provided near the top of the chamber so that oily materialsmay be promptly carried out of the cell. Consequently, a screen orstrainer E8 completely separates a region B9 of the cell through whichthe liquid leaving the cellmust pass. The strainer is provided withvertical slots or apertures 55 which permit liquid'mater-ials andprimarily the oil'c'ontained by the spin bath solution to leave thecoagulating region while retaining the coagul'ated or other buoyantsolid material.

The tube 63 maybe readily lifted from contact with its seat in thebo'ttom o'f the cell3l 'to facilitate the draining of the container 35.An aperture 53 through the wall between the cell 31 and 39 is locatednear the floor of the container .z'approximateiy at the level ofaperture '65, so that upon removal of the tube t3, substantial drainageof the entire container is accomplished. The drain tube B3 comprises twomembers 55 and 58. To accomplish precision adjustment of. the liquidlevel of thecontainer '35, member '55 has .an inner surface in threadedrelationship with an outer surfacecf the member '55 and may be adjustedlongitudinally with respect "to member '56 to "establish the overflowlevel for the-container '35. The lower end of the member 56 terminatesin an conical portion 58 which seats on a complementary surfacesurrounding 'a threaded drain aperture of the container into which thethreaded end of a drain pipe59 "extends. The lower portion of the'member56 is provided with radiallyextending lugs to, similar to the lugs 6|provided on the member .35, to provide lateral support for and toprevent relative rotation between the members 55 and 55. The chamber 31is square with respect to a plane normal to the axisof the tube. Themembers 55 and-56 of the tub "B3 may be removed and turned throughincrements of 90 degrees with respect to "ea-en other when adjusting thelength of the tube. Since it is desired to be able 't'o'make changes of0.01 of an inch in the liquid level in the container 35, the thread ofthe members has a fineness such that twisting one member with respect tothe other through degrees does not change the length of the tube 43 morethan approximately 0.01 of an inch. The tube 53 may be readily liftedfrom the cell for draining the container or for adjusting the members tosecure a desired change in the liquid level.

To maintain the passages of the spinning apparatus free from obstructionand to promote the quality of the filamentary material extrudedtherefrom, the filter 9 is constructed so that liquid is positivelypropelled through all passages thereof, and cannot collect in pockets inwhich it might undergo changes of viscosity or set-up as a result ofageing. This result is obtained by providing an annular filter element64 supported between a core 65 and an outer cover 56 for the filter. Thefilter element is preferably a rigid structure which may comprise aporous metal such as 'sintered stainless steel, or othernoncorrosiveimateri'al. The desired spacing of the element between'thecover '65 and the core 65 is obtained by the thickness of flanges 69,1B, and H whichmay, as shown, be a portion of a unitary structureincluding both the flanges and the 'element, or if'preferred,independent rings which support an unflanged element between the shell66 and the core. Clearances l2 and i3, 'exteriorly and interiorly of theelement, respectively, are suiliciently small to insure appreciablevelocity of liquid traversing these passages and to minimize thepossibility for liquid to set up or to accelerate the clogging of thefilter element 64. To avoid pockets in which the liquid would notreadily circulate, the clearances 12 and 13 are such that neitherclearance extends longitudinally further toward the end of the filterthan the juncture'ofidie o er clearance with a duct or passage leadingto the exterior ofthe filter.

The core 65 and the cover '66 of the filter are supported inconcentrically threaded relationship on a base "portion It. Passa'gewayid of the filter base it extends between apassageway 16 of the core 65and the passageway of the .fitting 12.

The core 6'5 is preferably formed'with'anannular shoulder T8 forlongitudinal positioning of v the filter element ii lbetween theshoulder and the surface 19 of the'filte'r base when the core -isscrewed into the "base 15. The cover, core, and base or manner maybefabricated .from a noncorrosive metal or, as employed 'in'theconventional filter of rayon spinning equipmentffrom a rubbercomposition which may be molded and vulcanized into rigid non-resilientarticles. When the filter "is constructed principally of nonmagneticmaterials, a magnetic member 82, press-fitted "or molded within the core65 may be employed to further aid the removal of magnetically attractedmaterial such as iron sulfide particles which are able to pass throughthe filter element. The magnet 82 is preferably cylindrical and may beprovided with 'end'portion's having a flange such as the flange '83 .soas 'toproviide a greater area to which magnetically attracted particlesmay become attached. The end sur- 'face of the magnet maybe slightlyconcave to provide a depression 8'4 into which magnetically attractedimpurities of the liquid to be filtered may collect. The end portion '86of the magnet being surrounded'by a' substantial th'icknesso'fnon-magnetic material comprising the core, will have noappreciableeiiecton any material in the iiquid'being filtered eitherbefore or after the lid-- uid passes through the filter. While a simplebar magnet is illustrated, the magnetic member may take any form orshape which adapts it to the structure of the filter, Whether of thepermanently magnetized or the electromagnetic type. If desired, amagnetic member may surround or be included within the structure of thecover 66. Access to the magnetic member 82 for cleaning is obtained byremoval of the filter cover 68.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that changes and variations may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for spinning filamentary material comprising a container, aswingable bracket having a passageway, a stationary mounting forpivotably supporting the bracket, a filter in fixed relationship withthe mounting and in communication with one end of the passageway, anextension to the bracket, a conduit attached to the bracket andcommunicating with the other end of the passageway and attached by itsother end to the extension of the bracket, a spinneret, means forattaching it to said extension, and a passageway through the extensionof the bracket connecting the conduit and the spinneret.

2. Apparatus for spinning filamentary material comprising a container, abracket, means for pivctably supporting the bracket so that a portionthereof is swingable into and out of the container, a spinneret securedto said portion, a conduit secured by both ends to the bracket, apassageway in said portion connecting the spinneret and one end of theconduit, a second passageway in the bracket connecting the other end ofthe conduit with an outer surface of the bracket, and means forsupplying a liquid to an end of the passageway terminating in thebracket surface.

3. Apparatus for spinning filamentary material comprising a container, abracket, means for pivotably supporting the bracket so that a portionthereof is swingable into and out of the compartment, a spinneretsecured to said portion, a conduit secured by both ends to the bracket,removable means for securing the spinneret and each end of the conduit,a passageway through said portion connecting one end of the conduit andthe spinneret, a passageway within the bracket connecting the other endof the conduit and an outer surface of the bracket in contact with thesupporting means of the bracket, and a passageway through the supportingmeans contiguous with the second passageway of the bracket.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein a stationary filter having inlet andoutlet portions is attached to the supporting means with the outletportion in communication with the passageway or" the supporting means.

5. Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein the pivotal supporting means hasbiiurcate members and an adjustable screw through one of the members forclamping the pivoting portion of the bracket between the members.

6. In a container for a spinning bath, overflow means for adjusting theliquid level in the container comprising a compartment, anupwardly-facing seating surface surrounding and defining a drain port inthe bottom of the compartment, an overflow tube comprising twolongitudinally relatively adjustable sections having portions inthreaded telescopic relationship, said tube being loosely supportedwithin said compartment and having an upper overflow surface and a lowerterminal surface which is complementary to the seating surface, andexterior laterally-projecting portions on each section which engage theside walls of the compartment to prevent rotation of the section withinthe compartment and to align the tube within the compartment with saidterminal surface in engagement with the seating surface, a wall of thecompartment having a passageway disposed below the overflow surface ofthe tube for connecting the region within the compartment and anotherregion within the container.

7. In a container for a spinning bath, overflow means for adjusting theliquid level in the container comprising a compartment of non-circularhorizontal cross-section, an upwardly-facing seating surface surroundingand defining a drain port in the bottom of the compartment, an overflowtube comprising two longitudinally relatively adjustable sections havingportions in threaded relationship, said tube being loosely supported insaid compartment and having an upper overflow surface and a terminalsurface which is complementary to the seating surface, and exteriorprojecting portions on each section extending radially and approximatelyin a plane in several directions distributed about the axis of the tubeinto close clearance with the compartment walls for preventing therotation of either section within the compartment and to align the tubesubstantially vertically with said terminal surface in engagement withthe seating surface, a wall of the compartment having a passagewaydisposed below the overflow surface of the tube for connecting theregion within the compartment and another region Within the container.

HENRY J MCDERMOTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,859,825 Hartmann May 24, 19322,303,697 Bergmann Dec. 1, 1942 2,446,979 McLellan Aug. 10, 19482,457,449 Davis et a1. Dec. 28, 1948 2,459,318 I-Ialliman Jan. 18, 19492,484,013 Calhoun, Jr. Oct. 11, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date25,175 Austria Aug. 10, 1966 16,557 Great Britain 1908 562,294 FranceMar. 18, 1929

